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| Europa Universalis II (EU2) |
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I really, really like this game, for three reasons: (1) love of history, (2) complexity, and (3) realism. Its not the most graphically stunning game on the market, which will turn some people off. But, if you're interested in the time period of 1419 - 1820, then you may want to try this RTS (w/ pause and speed control features).
What do you need to manage?
(1) military - 3 units (land, naval, & artillery) which gain strength through tech level advancements; terrain & weather considerations during battles, and military leaders which appear in a historical context; and rebels/pirates.
(2) diplomacy - royal marriages, military alliances, trade embargoes, trade agreements; and diplomatic annexations, forced annexations, and vassals.
(3) colonization - you may have the opportunity to colonize (e.g. North & South America).
(4) economy - centers of trade (COTs), merchants, trade embargoes, trade agreements, and investments (land, naval, trade, & infrastructure); and promote bailiffs, legal counselors, and mayors within provinces.
(5) religion - decide tolerance levels for other religions, which may very well affect revolt risks within your provinces; convert provinces to your state religion.
(6) general improvements (w/ in provinces) – improve fortresses, construct naval yards, conscription centers, and factories (fine arts academies, naval equipment factories, refineries, and weapons factories).
(7) domestic policy – there are 8 sliders which directly affect your country profile; can be changed only once every ten years, and in only one area.
Another very important aspect of EU2 is the historical events. Throughout the game, historical events are triggered where the player must choose an option inline w/ history. A player may choose to do exactly what was decided upon in history or choose a slightly altered option. The number of options varies depending on the event. There are four important events that will be faced by everyone: Reformation, Jean Calvin, Council of Trent, and The Edict of Tolerance. These are all tied to religion. Other events are nation specific (e.g. Austria’s inheritance of Bohemia) or general (e.g. peasant uprising).
Winning the game: EU2 has a Victory Points (VP) scale to show how you rank among the world's nations. If you have the most VPs at the end of the game, you're recognized as the winner, if not, then you're recognized as a loser. You gain VPs in a number of ways: diplomatic manuevers, economic strength, military strength, accepting goals and attaining them (e.g. forming an alliance w/ country x by a certain date), and a number of other ways. But, the general consensus among players is that having the most VPs at the end of the game doesn't necessarily mean you lost. If you started out w/ a one-province country and expanded to great lengths, but missed the VP race, you have every right to feel like the victor, as in a moral victory.
There is a fairly steep learning curve involved, IMHO. However, others have taken to it much faster than myself. I’m still learning more and more about the game. What is nice though, is a person may control the AI’s aggressiveness level and the game's difficulty level. For me, the only drawback is that a Grand Campaign takes forever. But, there are several different scenarios included. One of which (Napoleon’s Ambition) is only 20 game years in length.
Posted on May 22, 2004 at 3:07 pm
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| Games Playing: |
Civ5: BNW
TWD: 400 Days
XCOM
Crusader Kings 2
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| Reviews: |
• Crusader Kings
10/20/2005
• Hearts of Iron (HOI)
3/31/2005
• Europa Universalis II (EU2)
5/22/2004
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| System Details: |
OS: 10.9
Processor: Intel
CPU Speed: 3.0 Ghz +
Memory: 8 GB
Video: NVIDIA GeForce7 Series
Display: Apple CRT
HD Space: 250 GB +
CD: SuperDrive
DVD: SuperDrive
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| Polls Voted: 26 |
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